As national tours go, there's really only so much going on this weekend--as evidenced by the fact that, unless I'm forgetting some, we only previously spread word on three weekend shows already: the Lola's Stockyard show tonight with AA Bondy, Doug Burr and Telegraph Canyon, the Longhorn Saloon show tonight with Hank III and the Sunday night Nokia Theatre show with Slipknot, Coheed & Cambria and Trivium.

But there are some good shows we haven't yet riffed on. So without any further ado...

Menkena, Les Americains, The Naptime Shake
Friday, Feb. 20, at the Double Wide
Yes, this is totally navel-gazing stuff, sure, but I'll be at this show tonight, as the Double Wide's Chelsea Callahan has graciously turned this night into a celebration of the Observer's own Merritt Martin's birthday, which, actually, was yesterday, but whatever, it'll still be a party. And while each band has it's merits, for sure, I'm gonna keep the critical commentary to a minimum here in an attempt to avoid any the conflict of interest. Let's just say that, yes, the Observer's Noah W. Bailey is the frontman for The Naptime Shake and former Observer art director Mike Simmons is the drummer for Menkena. Oh well. Check out the Myspace pages and judge for yourself on this one.

Black Joe Lewis, Deep Snapper, Boxcar Satan, Nouns Group
Friday, Feb, 20, at Rubber Gloves in Denton
We've given Deep Snapper some love recently, but, really, the draw here is Austin's Black Joe Lewis, another act we've given plenty of love to in the past. If you haven't seen him live yet, you really should. If you dig you some James Brown, you'll dig you some Black Joe.

Sarah Jaffe, Matthew and The Arrogant Sea
Friday, Feb. 20 at Opening Bell Coffee (Mosaic location)
Two of Denton's finest, both of which could draw crowds to larger venues if they so chose, are playing tonight's at the Mosaic building location of Opening Bell Coffee's growing franchise. These shows usually start pretty early, though, so don't lollygag around if this show strikes your fancy.

RTB2, Here In Arms, Madison King
Friday, Feb. 20, at Club Dada
We haven't plugged an RTB2 show in a while, so here you go. Yes, we're fans.

All The Saints, Dust Congress, Jack With One Eye
Friday, Feb. 20, at Hailey's in Denton
The aforementioned birthday gal reviewed Jack With One Eye's disc in this week's paper--quite positively, too. If you missed last week's CD release show at The Lounge, here's your chance to make that up, while checking out Alabama's All The Saints, in the process..

Hayes Carll
Friday, Feb. 20, at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton
Pretty much the stereotypical Dan's gig, no?

Joe Ely
Saturday, Feb. 21, at Poor David's Pub
The Texas legend hops on down to South Lamar for, OK, the pretty stereotypical Poor David's gig.

Gary Allan, Eli Young Band, Stoney LaRue, others (as part of "Mardi Gras Texas Style")
Saturday, Feb. 21, at the State Fairgrounds
Confession time: As contemporary country goes, well, I really do like Gary Allan's See If I Care disc from a few years back.

Justin Nozuka, Missy Higgins, Lenka
Saturday, Feb. 21, at House of Blues
Nozuka's been through town like a bajillion times since he was crowned a VH1 You Oughtta KNow artist. Well, here he is again, Hotel Cafe fans.

Automorrow, Siren City, Third Man on the Match, Feel Never Real
Saturday, Feb. 21, at Curtain Club
Darryl Smyers has given the boys of Automorrow a good amount of love recently, and here's a fine chance to check the boys out in the flesh.

The Golden Boys, The Boom Boom Box, Nathan Browningham
Saturday, Feb. 21, at The Lounge on Elm Street
People seem to either love or hate Austin's Golden Boys, who are in town this weekend to celebrate a new CD release. Me, I'm in the love camp, for what it's worth. And I'm a big fan of the Boom Boom Box's post-punk, too. Nathan Browningham, meanwhile is pretty hit-and-miss with his Prince-like funk, which is sometimes tough to tell if it's a joke or not.

Daniel Francis Doyle, Farah, Rival Gang, Orange Coax
Saturday, Feb. 21, at Chat Room Pub in Fort Worth
Ladies and gentlemen: Your experimental show for the weekend.  

The Steps
Saturday, Feb. 21, at The Cavern
Observer contributor Cory Graves seems to enjoy the sounds of Austin's The Steps. I'll be honest: I haven't listened. But I'll take Cory's word for it.

Salim Nourallah, The Cut*Off, Whiskey Folk Ramblers
Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Fairmount in Fort Worth
Some Observer favorites find themselves together on this somewhat ramshackle bill. Some weird pairings, yes, but good music nonetheless. 

100 Damned Guns
Saturday, Feb. 21, at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton
Really haven't seen the alt-country fellas in 100 Damned Guns on a bill for a while, so this should be a good chance to check out the highly regarded outfit.

Loretta Lynn, Smile Smile
Sunday, Feb. 22, at House of Blues
The country legend and the love 'em/hate 'em Dallas duo.

Starhead, The Slow Burners, Sabra Laval
Sunday, Feb. 22, at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton
This show is serving as Starhead's CD release show. Keep an eye on our print edition in the coming weeks, as we're gonna have a review of the disc soon enough. I swear.

...and that's the bulk of it. Got more? Add 'em in the comments, if you've got 'em. Have a fun, safe time out there, folks.